- Japan plans to deploy 10 million more robots before 2040
- Nursing homes and food factories are at the center of the expansion
- Noetra will provide the AI foundation that will power Japan’s future robots nationwide
Japan has unveiled a revised national robotics strategy that aims to introduce around 10 million robots into the country by 2040.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa announced the plan, which now covers 18 areas after adding food manufacturing and medical care to previous priorities.
The government intends to move quickly to establish a central AI robotics hub, supporting deployment, research and workforce training activities across the country.
Robots go beyond the limits of the factory
Officials described the platform as key to helping companies adopt robots on a large scale in the coming years, particularly in industries already struggling with staffing shortages.
The strategy centers on Noetra, a nationally produced multimodal foundation model developed alongside a National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology project focused on physical AI.
Noetra is majority-owned by SoftBank, NEC, Sony Group and Honda, while Fujitsu and Rakuten are reportedly still considering whether to join the consortium.
Akazawa said accumulated data on Fukushima Daiichi’s elder care, disaster response, manufacturing sites and decommissioning efforts supports the government’s confidence in this approach.
“Using accumulated data” would become Japan’s “winning strategy,” he said, describing global competition as a competition for accessible data sets rather than just raw computing power.
The government plans to build a data infrastructure for physical AI and robots that reflects the country’s industrial strengths.
It will draw on decades of experience operating machinery in hazardous or labor-scarce environments nationwide.
International partnerships and regional ambitions
Officials confirmed a collaboration agreement with research institutes in the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom to support the development of the basic model.
The resulting technology would be made widely available to Japanese AI developers, businesses and potential users across multiple sectors and regions.
According to officials briefed on the project, some companies are expected to use the platform as a basis for expanding into foreign markets in the coming years.
The minister also linked the strategy to broader efforts encouraging AI-driven transformation from regional areas outside Japan’s major metropolitan centers, rather than focusing growth solely in Tokyo.
Japan’s aging population and restrictive migration policies continue to create labor shortages in sectors that struggle to recruit sufficient numbers of workers.
Policymakers are increasingly viewing automation as a practical answer, as many positions remain difficult to fill through conventional recruiting efforts alone.
Proponents frequently argue that robots fill roles inaccessible to human workers rather than directly replacing existing employees across industries.
The revised strategy therefore includes responsibilities for medical care as well as duties in food production and beverage manufacturing environments across the country.
South Korea announced a comparable robotics ambition this week, adding a competitive dimension to the broader regional picture as both countries seek sovereign AI capabilities.
Achieving these ambitions may depend less on announcements and more on sustained investment, technical progress and broader public acceptance at national level.
Via the register
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
